Being my travels down those great two lane highways of this nation as well as news I learn about them from media sources. Since I'm also very interested in historic preservation, there will be a lot of that as well.

Thursday, August 30, 2018

These are taken from the Route 66 News site which had daily posts and a lot more. I just write about ones of particular interest to me.

JULY 18-- The Milburn-Price Culture Museum in Vega, Texas, now boasts "The World's Largest Branding Iron" on the ground in front of the place. It is 22 feet long and weighs 3,000 pounds.

I'd sure like to see a cowboy pick that up.

JULY 19-- Joliet, Illinois, sets the times of its tours of the old prison. They are expected to begin in early August. Visitors will be transported from the Joliet Area History Museum to the prison and back.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

"City crews started the annual summer task of ridding the parkings and vacant lots about DeKalb of weeds. The crew made a tour along the Lincoln Highway and those parkings not cared for by the owners of the property adjacent, are given attention.

"There are several vacant lots around DeKalb which annually grow up with weeds, and as the owners are out of town residents, the city is compelled to do the work."

Just bragging a little here, but there are six Route 66 places listed in the 20 Oddities in Illinois you should visit.

I just wrote about one, the Launching Pad Drive-In and Gemini Giant.

The other five are in:

Atlanta
two in Lincoln
Staunton
Collinsville

For loyal 66ers, these "Oddities" should be easy to guess.

Plus, the Friendship Shoe Fence is in Cornell, not too far off Route 66 near Pontiac. We plan on checking it our the next time we're down that way. Of course, Route 66 has numerous shoe trees, and there is that one tree south of Pontiac that has been receiving Christmas decorations and will soon be a year-round Christmas tree.

The space race was at fever pitch in the mid 60s when the former owners of a diner on Route 66 changed the name of their eatery to Launching Pad Drive-In and got one of the huge muffler men statues and changed him into a space suit with helmet holding a rocket which they put in their parking lot to draw people into their place.

The Launching Pad's new co-owner, Tully Garrett, said, "They bought him for one reason only: So people would get out of their cars, take pictures and smell the hamburgers."

The 30-foot tall statue is one of hundreds of fiberglass "Muffler men" who once lined roadways, cradling car mufflers and assorted props in their brawny arms.

The recently reopened Launching Pad doesn't sell burgers as of yet, but it's a great place to grab a cup of coffee, chat with people and load up on Route 66 stuff.

So glad the place has finally reopened after being closed for many years. A definite stop on your Route 66 trip.

Well, after countless discussions, Tom got to work on restoring the skylight blue sports car that had sat in his garage for 27 years. And then, he learned that their car might be something special.

It might, in fact, be the very first Mustang ever sold.

And, you know, those '64 Mustangs were cool cars to begin with...but, the very first one!!!

Ford Motor Company has now confirmed that their car was the very first one ever sold. And, this weekend, the car is on display in Detroit as the company celebrates the sale of its 10 millionth Mustang. (None, however, ever owned by me.)

Not only did Gail and Tom Wise hang on to their Mustang all these years, but they also kept all the original paperwork. By one estimate, that makes their old blue car worth as much as $450,000.

Well, Good Thing They Held Onto That Old Worthless Piece of Junk. --RoadDog

Monday, August 20, 2018

From the August 8, 2018, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."

1918, 100 Years Ago.

"The carelessness of an aged resident last night at the Fourth street corner, caused many people waiting for the six o'clock street car to turn their heads. The aged resident was walking along at a brisk pace, and probably due ro the fact that a train was passing on the North Western at the same time, did not hear the street car.

"The man walked directly into path of the electric car and had not the motor man had his car under control and able to stop at once the man would have been injured. Many people waiting for the car at this corner, turned their heads at the time, not caring to see the accident."

This would have taken place in DeKalb, Illinois, at the corner of Fourth Street and the Lincoln Highway.

Sunday, August 19, 2018

From the August 15, 2018, Chicago Sun-Times "The joy of being first with a '64 Mustang" Editorials.

A Park Ridge, Illinois, couple, Gail and Tom Wise debated for years whether to junk their old Ford Mustang convertible. Gail had bought it in 1964 from a Ford dealer on Cicero Avenue so that she could get to her first job. It then became the family's car, but stopped running after fifteen years (1979) and then, just sat in their garage.

Gail wanted to free up space in her garage. Tom wanted to restore the car some day.

See how you measure up to this life-sized statue of the tallest man, Alton native Robert Pershing Wadlow, who was less than an inch shy of 9 feet when he died in 1940.

Known as Alton's "Gentle Giant," Wadlow was born a century ago with a pituitary gland disorder that caused his imposing growth. By age five, he was already 5.5 feet tall. The local movie theater reserved a special place for him: one seat to sit in and four more for his long limbs.

Near the statue is a bronze cast of another chair, this one designed for his extraordinary frame.

Learn more about the city's beloved ambassador in a Wadlow exhibit across the street at the Alton Museum of History and Art.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Decisions must be made today as again, there are too many places we'd like to be and not enough time to do it.

Choppers, off Channel lake in Antioch is having their annual Chopperfest with a pig roast and bands out on the deck.

The Ingleside Dog 'N Suds, yep, one of those old root beet places, is having a classic car show and an Elvis impersonator. (We have three of the only remaining seven Dog 'N Suds withing a 25-mile radius of us.)

McHenry's Peterson Park is hosting the annual Blooze, Brews and BBQ festival. Headliner tonight is one of our favorite bands, the Blooze Brothers, who do, of course, the Blues Brothers. There will be two other Blues bands as well.

Most likely, we will go to the Spring Grove Fire Department annual Steak Fry at Horsefair Park.

I Just Hate When There Are More Things To Do Than Time To Them. --RoadDog

There's a piece of Hollywood in southern Illinois, but you'll have to venture fifty feet underwater to see it. The ill-fated Boeing 727 that crashed in the 1998 film "U.S. Marshals" was laid to rest in Mermet Springs, a spring-fed limestone quarry that draws around 6,000 scuba divers a year.

There are also planes, a train and automobiles as attractions at the site in the more than 8 acres of water. (Hey, there was a movie about them too.) Also you can see paddlefish (one real strange-looking fish), bass and albino catfish there.

So, you don't scuba. Well for $25 you can get a 25-minute shallow dive with an instructor or for $50 get this dive and a full day's access to the quarry and snorkle equipment.

Thursday, August 16, 2018

From the August 12, 2018, Chicago Tribune Lori "Bicentennial Bucket List" by Rackl.

Offbeat, quirky and even downright weird.

1. KASKASKIA DRAGON Vandalia, 2024 Progress West Drive. Illinois' second capital. The town's unofficial mascot shoots flames out of its snoot. The fifty-foot long creature is not far from Kaskaskia Supply and Rental, a hardware store owned by Walt Barenfanger.

One of his employees built it about 25 years ago. A local propane distributor bestowed it with fire-breathing capabilities.

But, it will cost you a dollar to buy a token at the liquor store across the street or at the Supply store. The show lasts about ten seconds or so.

The new Illinois Bicentennial Passport program encourages people to get their passport stamped at 56 spots until November 30. Collect enough passports stamps and you're entitled to prizes. (For example: Get 35 stamps and you get a mule-pulled ride aboard an 1840s-style canal boat on the I&M Canal.)

You can pick up a passport at any one of the 56 passport stops, most of which are clustered in the I & M Canal and Looking For Lincoln National Heritage areas. They include the newly remodeled Springfield Governor's Mansion and the Field Museum.

Free slices of Eli's Cheesecake will be served around the state on August 26, when the first Illinois Constitution was adopted two hundred years ago (but none in Chicago).

Friday, August 10, 2018

The yard is at what I consider peak color for the year. Daylillies, purple cone flowers, tall phlox, black-eyed Susans, hostas and a few wild daisies are still in prime bloom. And, I have hundreds of each.

Sat out FP (front porch) and gazebo and enjoying the day and flowers.

Went to Stucky's in Johnsburg and met Kevin and Kelly and enjoyed the $1 burger special (add cheese and lettuce, tomato and onion for another $1). Includes home-made chips. Plus, they have $1.50 draft pints today.

Went to Sunnyside and enjoyed the happy hour $5 pitchers. Ran into a lot of people who used to work at Antonio's in Spring Grove. Came home and enjoyed Margaritaville.

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Mostly worked in the yard. We did go to the Fox Lake American Legion on Nippersink Lake and met the Usual Suspects. We didn't win the 50-50.

JULY 28, SATURDAY

Went to Crystal Lake, Illinois, for the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group meeting at Panera Bread. This month's topic was Civil War Industry.

When I returned, Liz and I went to Thirsty Turtle in Antioch on Channel Lake and sat out on the deck from 1 p.m. to 4 listening to Robert Boegart "Old Hippy Bob" as he played a lot of that old, great music and, in honor of what would have been Steve Goodman's 70th birthday, lots of his songs. Goodman wrote "City of New Orleans", "You Never Even Called Me By Your Name", "Go Cubs Go" the song Cubs fans sing after wins as they break out those "W" flags, and many others.

We then went over to the nearby Choppers and sat out on their deck by the channel and listened to Remedy Acoustic.

People often ask Liz and me wanting to know why we don't go on vacations in July and August. Well, being retired, we can go anytime we want. And, there is so much to do around here in the northeastern part of Illinois and the southeastern area of Wisconsin.

There is always boating on the Chain of Lakes (though because of mechanical problems we haven't had the boat out yet, but maybe by next week).

And, there are festivals and lots of bands playing. This was one of our weekends:

THURSDAY, JULY 26

We went to Thirsty Turtle in Antioch, Illinois, overlooking Channel Lake to get a Chain Crawl passport stamp and then to the Limerick in downtown.

Then, we went to Antioch's weekly It's Summer concert and saw the band 28 Days

From the July 25, 2018, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."

1918 and 1943, 100 and 75 Years Ago.

1918: "An auto, the body in the form of a bottle, was on DeKalb streets advertising a Milwaukee beverage. The car passed on to other cities west later in the day."

Being a Milwaukee beverage, I have to wonder what kind of beverage it was and if they handed out free samples? Must have been the forerunner of the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.

1943: "Sheriff A; Deisz has no respect for a speeding motorist at any time and especially now. While driving on the Sycamore road a machine passed his going to fast a speed for safety and Sheriff Deisz set out in pursuit, arresting the man a few minutes later."

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

These are taken from the Route 66 News blog. I only take the posts of the most interest to me. There are a lot more stories and pictures as well as much more information. Check it out.

JULY 4-- Renovated Gateway Arch Museum in St. Louis reopens to the public.

Too bad that I won't be going there for awhile as I have a boycott against St. Louis for removing the Confederate statue.

It was a $380 million renovation which also includes a major renovation of the grounds around the Arch.

JULY 8-- There has been a rash of Route 66 sign thefts in Kansas, and that is just a 13 mile stretch. So far, nine have been stolen, causing much nuisance and inconvenience, not to mention the cost of replacing them.

The bill to make Route 66 a National Historic Trail gets all the big news, but a second Route 66 bill is quietly advancing. The Route 66 Centennial Commission Act has gone through committee in the House of Representatives. Now, it will be voted upon by the entire House.

U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Illinois) is cosponsor of it.

The bill calls for:

1. Creating a 19-member commission to recommend activities for the 100th anniversary of the road in 2026.

2. Directs the commission to host a conference on the U.S. numbering of highway for its 100th anniversary

3. Direct the Department of Transportation, in connection with the eight states through which Route 66 passes through to develop plans.

In addition, last month, the House of Representatives unanimously passed the Historic Trail Bill. The Senate is now scheduled to consider it.

Monday, August 6, 2018

"Kit Carson of Waterman was arrested at his place of business there by Chicago detectives on a charge of buying stolen automobiles, and is now in custody in Chicago.

"The detectives had been on the trail of the cats for some time past and after investigating conditions at Waterman arrested the man who and also seized four cars that are alleged to have been stolen."

Saturday, August 4, 2018

Nothing like cruising down the open road (two lane preferably) and out in the countryside, never knowing what is around the next bend or is that down down the road.

Window down, arm out the window, maybe left hand clasping the roof, right hand on the steering wheel and some great tunes blasting (loudly)out the radio, via stations, cassettes or CDs.

And, we have a treat coming up here in Chicago in a few hours. WXRT, 93.1 FM will visit 1971 from 9 to noon, CDST. Johnny Mars will host. Always a real trip back in time and 1971 was a pretty good college year for me between NIU and UGA with a summer stop for six weeks at Quantico, Virginia.

Then, maybe, on Sunday, Bob Stroud will continue his 40th anniversary of the Summer of 1977 on Chicago's WDRV, 97.1 FM. He will either do it this Sunday or next Sunday as he usually doesn't let us know in advance. Even if it is the following Sunday, he will do his Rock and Roll Roots show which features just music from the 1960s and 1970s. His show runs 7 to 10 a.m. CDST

Thursday, August 2, 2018

JULY 2-- The National Trust for Historic Preservation began their Route 66 tour today. Five young Route 66 people are on a one month long trip to get publicity to get Congress to designate the Mother Road as a National Historic Trail.

It began in Chicago and will end in Los Angeles, California, August 3. They will be in Illinois July 105 and Missouri July 6-10.

My word to you youngsters, be careful. Route 66 is VERY addictive.

JULY 3-- Decades of Wheels in Baxter Springs, Kansas will have an opening set for mid-October with a series of concerts with some pretty big 60s and 70s bands including Steppenwolf and Grand Funk. John Kay will take stage October 14, and Grand Funk (or do you say Railroad?) will headline October 12.

JUNE 25-- The Tropics sign is relit in Lincoln, Illinois!!! Can't wait to see it.

JUNE 26-- National Trust for Historic Preservation places Route 66 on it endangered list. This is the second time for this. This is mostly because of problems getting the National Historic Trail classification.. It must be passed by the Senate and signed by the president.

I'm not too worried about this as Route 66 will continue with or without the classification. But, it would be better to have it and Route 66 deserves it. That was/is one important road in our country's history.

JUNE 28-- The old Joliet Prison event will have a Blue Brothers tribute band and Dan Ackroyd has been invited to attend.

It will be held in August and will feature the Blooze Brothers and two other bands.